The Unexpected
by elenilote
Summary: In which Erica tells Stiles about her feelings for him and he needs to figure out what to do about them.


"I've had the biggest crush on you forever. Yeah, _you_ Stiles."

To say Stiles is stunned by Erica's confession would be an understatement. He's rocked to the core, for one he had no idea she felt that way about him and also, it's exactly the way he's been mooning over Lydia. So yeah, while he knows the feeling very well he was so not expecting this.

But there's so much going on and she doesn't press the matter so he leaves it alone. Until the fiasco of the detention and Matt and Jackson going batshit crazy and Erica ending up in the line of fire. Stiles's heart skips several beats seeing her convulsing on the floor - the werewolf bite was supposed to have cured her seizures, that they were back had to be real bad.

He's never driven so fast in his life, lucky the base is in the middle of nowhere so for the most part he's able to avoid detection. By the time they arrive, Stiles is about ready to burst, this is not right, this is not how it's supposed to go. He's not even had a chance to think about her words, she can't die, it wouldn't be right! Just as he thinks the worst is over and Derek will somehow magically be able to cure her it gets worse.

_She needs to heal_, Derek explains and breaks Erica's wrist. Her scream cuts straight to Stiles's heart and he holds onto her tight, muttering _it's alright, it'll be alright_ into her ear, he's not sure if she's even listening but somehow it feels like the right thing to do.

Then the healing doesn't start fast enough and Derek has to break the bones _again_ and Stiles watches them break through her white skin and there's blood everywhere and Erica's screams get more intense…he thinks it's too much to bear and is about to say so when she goes still and quiet in his arms.

Stiles's gaze snaps from the bloody hand to her face, suddenly scared of what he'll see. But she just smiles, a real honest smile like she's happy it's _Stiles_ holding her and just before she faints, he's sure he hears her whisper _thank you_.

Of course she heals just fine after that, four hours later there is not a mark on her though she hasn't woken up yet. Stiles sits on the floor next to her bed, he can't leave now - not after…not after what she said. He's had some time to think while she's been sleeping and while this is probably the worst possible time for these things it may also be the only time they'll have. Maybe Lydia is not the one for him, but maybe he's the one for Erica? He hasn't said a word to anyone but somehow Scott knows, Stiles can tell from the way his friend looks at him, he can feel it in the reassuring squeeze on his shoulder as Scott walks by. That gives him some assurance that maybe this is the right thing to be doing.

"You stayed."

The soft voice brings Stiles back to the present from his musings. He looks up to see Erica watching him. For a moment he forgets what he was about to say and just stares at her, she's so beautiful. In a totally different way to Lydia, Erica's attention is focused on Stiles and it's a little overwhelming.

"Umm…yes, yeah I stayed. Listen, about what you said…"

"I get it, you're flattered and all but you love Lydia and yeah, sorry. It's OK Stiles, I wasn't expecting anything. It was just a silly teenage crush. You don't have to say anything."

Though outwardly she doesn't sound sad or upset, Stiles is pretty well tuned to the werewolves by now and doesn't miss the small twitch of her shoulders or the minute way she seems to slump on the bed - if she was shifted he is sure her ears would be flattened against her skull. He lifts a hand to her wrist, where Derek broke the bones and runs his thumb over the unbroken skin before answering.

"I was going to say I like you too, Erica. I mean it's been quite an afternoon and I think I need a bit of time to get to grips with everything that's happened but I really do like you. And…well, I…maybe we could see what happens? If you still want to, that is."

It's like someone drew back the curtains and let the sun in, watching the smile spread on her face. She doesn't reply right away, just turns her wrist so that she can twine her fingers in Stiles's. In the end they stay that way, holding hands and speaking softly for the rest of the evening. There are no objections to Stiles staying the night in Erica's bed, much to his surprise even Derek seems to approve.

When he wakes up in the morning it's to find his arms wrapped protectively around her, his face buried in her cinnamon-scented hair and it's like this is where he's supposed to be.

Sometimes what you're looking for can be found in the most unexpected place.


End file.
